Lullaby
by Souffles In Space
Summary: Zatanna didn't want to be alone that first night in the vast, hollow network of Wayne Manor. / Slightly AU drabble; Chalant; post-"Misplaced".


**Disclaimer:** _Young Justice_ © DC / Warner Bros. - Full disclaimer on my profile.

**Summary:** Zatanna didn't want to be alone that first night in the vast, hollow network of Wayne Manor. / Slightly AU drabble; Chalant; post-"_Misplaced_".

**A/N:** Wrote this at 3am for Satellites on Parade / kidiot's YJ ficathon on Livejournal because I am in denial over the show ending later today. Please excuse mistakes and bad quality. I may publish one or two more of these Denial Drabbles. English spellings and words used.

**Prompt:** "_Dick/Zatanna, a "what if Zatanna had moved into Wayne Manor" AU_" (emperessearwig)

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**Lullaby**  
**~YJ~**

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When one has nightmares, it's the generally accepted practice that one comforts oneself by fleeing to the protective arms of ones parents - assuming that one is of a fairly young age.

As it was, Zatanna wasn't sure if fifteen was too old, but that didn't matter anyway since the choice had been ripped away from her the night before.

But Zatanna didn't want to be alone that first night in the vast, hollow network of Wayne Manor - alone with the lingering afterimages of another entity looking out through her father's eyes, boring into hers with stoic, unsentimental intensity as he faded from her. The image was seared into her retinas; she saw it when she blinked, and she saw it in the shadows congealed in the corners and crevices of the halls, and her forehead felt cold where her dad had kissed it.

Bruce was out of the question. Alfred was probably busy pressing Batman's cape. That left one option.

"Zee?" Robin (no, Dick - his names was Dick now) rubbed his eyes, sitting up in bed. Even in the dark, those eyes were piercing. "You okay?"

Zatanna stood in Dick's bedroom doorway, the shadows rendering her expression unreadable; Dick saw nothing but Zatanna suddenly found herself in the collision course of a tidal wave of embarrassment. _This is stupid, it's just a dream. Why should I bother Ro- Dick about it?_ She felt her face burning, twisting her hand into her flannel pyjama top, but finding it hard to stammer out an excuse and move away -

Her eyes adjusted to the dark. She blinked. "Are...those Superman pyjamas?"

She didn't miss the way he suddenly stilled; he jerked the quilt further up over the 'S'-shield on his chest. "...Maybe."

Zatanna couldn't help it. Her hand flew to her mouth to smother a giggle. "'_Gotham's Youngest Bachelor_'?"

To his credit, Dick recovered quickly - he grinned, dropping his quilt and gesturing to himself. "Hey, the ladies go crazy for a guy in uniform, am I right?" He waggled his eyebrows, prompting another undignified snort from Zatanna's direction.

"I think I'll be able to control myself."

"We'll see about that." And suddenly, at the drop of a hat, Dick's expression softened into light concern. He cleared his throat and rubbed his neck. "You, uh, can't sleep?"

The small burst of giddiness dissipated as easily as it had come. Zatanna's smirk dropped. She swallowed. "Yeah."

"My...I mean..." He took a deep breath. "You can...stay here for tonight, if you want?" A beat - then Dick's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed dark. "N-not like that, I promise! I'll - take the floor. You can take the bed -"

"_Dick,_" Zatanna said firmly, and Dick stopped. Somehow, his bashfulness lifted the corners of Zatanna's mouth. "That'd...be nice. And I trust you." Really, how could anything think him capable of taking advantage of anyone? "You don't have to take the floor. I don't mind. The bed's big enough."

Dick's eyes widened fractionally but he smiled and scooched over, making room for Zatanna to crawl in beside him. True to his word, he kept several inches of space between their bodies, but their shared warmth was enough to make Zatanna feel that little bit safer - on a calm island, far away from the Light and Doctor Fate and the rest of the storm surrounding their world right now. Somehow their fingertips ended up touching on the pillow. At some point, Dick began to hum, an unfamiliar tune in a tongue that Zatanna didn't understand.

"_Buter káj egy berseszki szán, móri drágo piko séj..._"

She didn't have another bad dream that night.

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**~YJ~**


End file.
